Resolution omitted from Sumner agenda

Sumner - The Sumner City Council postponed the adoption of Resolution no. 1377 regarding increased rail traffic at its Feb. 18 meeting for further discussion.

It was not the same resolution that Council Member Nancy Dumas had submitted.

“In my absence, my resolution went away,” Dumas said. “It is [now] watered down and does not protect our citizens,”

Dumas was in Washington DC during the previous study session.

The resolution, as presented at the meeting, would have the Council find the impact of increased rail traffic, including coal trains.

The City of Sumner would then ask to meet with representatives from Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad to find ways to address local concerns of increased rail traffic. The Council would then ask the railroad keeps environmental and economic impacts as low as possible.

The rails are near residential neighborhoods, the public library and schools. The Mayor and Council are not only concerned about increased emissions, including coal dust, from trains and stopped traffic waiting to cross the rail, but are also concerned about the economic effects of the trains.

“The resolution I submitted is very different from this,” Dumas said. Dumas had submitted a resolution used in Edmunds, but crossed out “Edmunds” and wrote “Sumner”.

Other members of the council thought this was an example of a possible resolution for Sumner, not an actual resolution.

Council Member Randy Hynek said that it is common policy to call for clarification if someone is unsure. 

“Why wasn’t she called?” Hynek asked. “My concern is that Dumas followed procedures and the resolution is not here today.”

Hynek mentioned that the Council had followed the same procedures for eight years.

“This Council is uninformed, and that’s a shame, because it’s at the expense of our citizens,” Hynek said.

Deputy Mayor, Mike LaMaster, said that picking up the phone goes both ways.  

The 150 plus page packets are published on the City of Sumner website Friday before each meeting. Had Dumas looked for her resolution she could have called and had it fixed.

Council Member Cindi Hochstatter told Dumas, “Just because you bring something up, that doesn't mean that it will be passed.”

After much debate, Mayor Dave Enslow suggested passing the resolution as is, and passing another if needed.

Instead, after 45 minutes, the Council postponed further discussion of the resolution until the Study Session on Feb. 25. 

Bonney Lake bank and Lions Club recognized for blood drive

Bob Grant, Phlebotomist, finishes drawing blood from
Bonney Lake resident Annette LaPlante
 inside the Bloodmobile.

Bonney Lake - Cascade Regional Blood Services recognized the Bonney Lake branch of Columbia Bank and Lions Club for their continued support of the organization.

“We thank the staff at bank for hosting us and for marketing support, location, facility use,” Cari Dixon, assistant director of donor resources, said.  

The Bonney Lanke community blood drive at Columbia Bank held every Friday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is one of four CRBS weekly blood drives.

“The community rallies around this program every Friday,” Dixon said.

Since the start of the blood drive in early 2007, over 4400 people have donated blood. Last year alone, 772 people donated at the bank.

While Columbia Bank supplies a location for the Bloodmobile, a vehicle that allows the organization to collect blood anywhere, the Lions Club helps by spreading the word and recruiting donors.

Rita Wells, community relations specialist at CRBS, said, “When a group supports our efforts and spreads the word, it can make for a successful partnership.”

Bonney Lake resident Annette LaPlant donates blood whenever she can, which happens to be every eight to ten weeks.

“If I can help save a life, then I would love to do that,” LaPlant said. “It’s not difficult; it’s very easy.”

The process is very short and only takes a few minutes. First the donor registers to donate and fills out a confidential history. Then they have their vitals checked. After that, the donors blood is drawn, which takes up to 10 minutes. Finally, donors are given refreshments like juice, chocolate milk or cookies.

CRBS has provided blood to hospitals in South King and Pierce County for over 65 years and is the exclusive supplier to MultiCare Good Samaritan Hospital.

Christine Swinehart, CRBS president and CEO, said, “We rely upon community sponsors, like Columbia Bank and the Bonney Lake Lions Club, and volunteer blood donors to keep a constant and safe supply of blood and blood products for the hospitals we serve.”

Jim Read, Columbia Bank branch manager, said “We love helping the blood drive and giving them the support they need. It’s been a great marriage.”

"Chocolate: aphrodisiac and food of the gods"

Using memes, Justin Lytle, assistant professor of chemistry, shows that
not even Success Kid or  Morgan Freeman would eat bad chocolate.

Roughly 40 chocolate lovers gathered in Leraas Lecture Hall the day before Valentine’s Day for the lecture “For the love of chocolate, aphrodisiac and food of the gods.”

“When there’s free chocolate, you get a larger crowd,” Justin Lytle, assistant professor of chemistry, said as he showed the group the four chocolates they would later eat.

A reoccurring theme throughout the lecture was the best foods are rotten. This includes cheese, yogurt, wine, and best of all, chocolate.

“Chocolate is like wine, something many [students] don’t know legally about,” Lytle said. The flavor or chocolate depends on where the cacao plant is grown and how it is processed.

There may be health benefits from the rotten delicacy. Dark chocolate has more antioxidants than apples per 100 grams. But, when the calories of chocolate are taken into consideration, apples are probably the better way to go.

Another health benefit proven by research funded by Mars, a candy company that earns $30 billion annually, showed that chocolate actually lowers cholesterol.

Despite these claims that chocolates are healthy, they are not the reason we eat chocolate – It’s delicious. At least the real chocolates are delicious.

There are three types of chocolate according to Lytle: dark chocolate, milk chocolate and mockolate. Dark chocolate has ground cacao, sugar and cacao butter and vanilla. Add powdered milk and it becomes milk chocolate. Lytle said that the cheap chocolates like Hershey’s and Nestlé’s are mockolate.

“I really, really love chocolate,” Lytle said. “I like the chocolate that when I eat it, I say ‘wow.’” 

Artifact Day

Students from an archeology and film class invited the Parkland community to learn about any artifacts they might have.

Seven people, including a professional gravedigger, brought in artifacts on Jan. 25.

 “It was actually very successful. We had more people than expected and the students listened well,” said Amanda Taylor, visiting assistant professor of anthropology.

The archeology class prepared for the event by learning more about local archeology and learning the laws and rules about cultural resources in Washington.

Mark Woldseth, a PLU alum, brought in projectile points, a Native American scraper, a shard of pottery, an old Lysol bottle and a mechanical calendar from San Francisco.

Most people incorrectly call projectile points, “arrowheads,” Taylor said. Projectile points could have been used for more things than arrows and is a more general term.
Taylor showed how the Native Americans made scrapers. They took a rock and broke off a shard of obsidian.

They then jammed one end of the obsidian into an antler and used it as a scraper.
The class discussed what might have been in the Lysol bottle. It was old and looked like it was meant to be sealed with a cork.

Noel Raetc ’14 examined the mechanical calendar and said, “It tells you the date if you remember to turn it.”

The students took and drew pictures of each artifact that was brought in and recorded notes in their notebooks. The class is looking into the history of the artifacts that were brought in and will be helping the owners figure out what exactly they have.

One person brought in a weight that was used to hold down fishing nets. The hole in the middle was carved out using only rocks.

Another person brought in something that looked like it may have been a compass. The writing on it looked Chinese and looked like it may have been used at sea.

Other people brought in things that weren’t artifacts, like geodes and petrified wood.

“Those are cool,” said Taylor. “But they aren’t archeological.”

“Artifact Day was very successful and I hope to teach the class again next J-Term.”

http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/02/artifacts-day/home.php

Economics of Golf

An unconventional approach to economics that allows students to shoot lasers and travel PGA tour destinations was taught this J-Term by Mark Reiman, associate professor of economics.

This class, The Economics of Golf, was inspired by a book called Golfonomics – not Reiman’s golfing skills.

In The Economics of Golf, students met with owners of golf courses in Tacoma, Monterey, Palm Desert and Phoenix, as well as officials of the PGA tour to discuss the economics behind golf.

“I like to test economic theories," Reiman said. “But I am not an avid golfer.”

Many of the students didn’t have much experience with golf, but wanted to test economic theories. Dimitri Sammpas ’13, an economics and business major, has experience with mini golf and Wii Golf.

“One of my interests in economics is in depth economics analysis of business as well as using economic theory,” Sammpas said.

Unlike the traditional economics class, The Economics of Golf allowed students to get involved with new research, "instead of being taught something that’s existed hundreds of years,” Sammpas said.

They are able to apply economic theories not only to the course management of golf, but also to the game itself. While in Palm Desert, the class attended the Humana Challenge and had the opportunity to walk with celebrities and professional golfers as marshals.

“Our job was simple; make sure people aren’t distracting the golfers with their phones or cameras,” Kyle Parnelle wrote in the class blog. “It was truly an amazing experience walking the course that the pros were walking,”

At the Phoenix Open, the class volunteered to help run the ShotLink system. ShotLink is a device that uses lasers and GPS to stream data to on-site television broadcast partners like CBS and NBC, PGATOUR.com, print media, mobile devices and others.

The data provided by ShotLink, makes it easier to apply economic theories to the game. One specific theory Reiman mentioned was Prospect Theory, for which psychologist Daniel Kahneman won the 2002 Nobel prize in economics. It proposes that people aren’t always trying to maximize benefits, but are paying attention to a benchmark. In this case, the benchmark is par.

“Do golfers pay attention to par? Yes, they sit in it,” Reiman said.

This is in contrast to neoclassical economic theory that says that people are always trying to better their situation given the constraints they face. The Economics of Golf was split into two sections in order to maximize the number of students that could take the class.

 Hollie Lucas ’16 plans to major in Athletic Training, and Econ 287 was a perfect pairing of interests.
“I love traveling,” she said after returning from Mexico the day before leaving for Monterey. “Being able to go and experience is the best way to learn."

http://www.plu.edu/news/2013/02/pga-course/home.php